Roller conveyer



g; 2, 1930. K E. PEILER 1,772,584

' ROLLER CONVEYER Filed April 24, 1928 6-73" E251 ""Hi Patented Aug. 12, 1930 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE KARL E. PEILER, OF WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR 'I'O HARTFORD-EMPIRE COMPANY,OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION 01 DELAWARE ROLLER GON'VEYER Application filed April 24,

This invention relates to conveying apparatus, and more particularly to such apparatus as is commonly used for conveying bottles orv other glassware to a lehr.- One type of conveyer used for that purpose consists of a plurality of positively driven rollers which support the ware and advance it toward the lehr. When a conveyer of this kind is usedto carry Ware to a lehr having a flexible belt jg conveyer, difiiculty is encountered in, getting the ware from the roller conveyer onto the belt conveyer, due to the fact that the belt conveyer, at the point where the ware is received, passes around a roller of several inches in diameter, and it is impossible to get a roller of the size used in the conveyer or of an inch diameter) close enough to the horizontal receiving portion of the wire conveyer to avoid tipping over the bottle. In other wbrds, the bottle tips over and tends to fall down the crack between the last roller of the roller-conveyer and the belt conveyer.

The object of this invention is to overcome thisidiflicult and this is accomplished by the provision o a small diameter roller between the'last standard size roller of the roller conveyer and the belt conveyer. In order to get this roller as close as possible to the horizontal stretch of the conveyer, this diameter is made small that it is liable, to bend under, the Weight of the ware. A further object of the invention is to provide means to prevent this bending or deformation of the roller.

In order to more clearly explain my invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a broken plan view of a roller conveyer arranged to feed ware to a belt conveyer and showing my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a sectional e'levation taken on the line 22 of Fig.1; y

Fig. 3 is a broken plan view similar to Fig. 1 of a modified form of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken-on the line 4-4 of Fi 3.

In'the drawings, 10 represents the rollers of a roller conveyer driven by sprocket wheels 11 mounted thereon. These sprocket as small as possible, and this makes it so 1928. Serial No. 272,376.

65 clearance. The rollers are journaled in the frame 12 and the sprocket wheels are driven by sprocket chains 13. These rollers turn in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 2 and advance the ware in the direction of the arrow A toward a belt conveyer 14which passes around a roller of relatively large diameter, as shown at 15. The roller 15 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow. A belt conveyer of this type, as used withn lehr, is described in U. S. Patent No. 1,583,- 046, granted May 4, 1926, to the Hartford- Empire Company as assignee of Henry N. Ingle. By referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that no matter how close the last roller of the roller conveyer is placed to the roller 15,

there is still left a wide space between the two in which the bottles or other ware are without support and therefore liable to tip over. To prevent this, in this space is placed an auxiliary or intermediate roller 16 of much smaller diameter. 1

Because of its small diameter, the roller 16 is not very stiff and is liable to be bent under the weight of the bottles. One way of overcoming this tendency is shown inFigs. 1 and 2, which consists of putting the roller 16 under longitudinal tension and at the same time arranging it so that it can rotate freely and be driven at the same peripheral speed as the rollers 10. At each side of the frame 12 is provided an enlarged support for a thrust bearing 17. At one end of the roller 16 is rigidly attached a bearing collar 18 which, as shown, is also provided at its outer periphery with a sprocket wheel for driving roller 16. Cooperating with the other bearing 17 is a collar 19 adapted to rotate with the roller 16, but free toslide longitudinally thereon: In order to reduce the. friction at 17-1 8 and 17 19 to a minimum, I have provided ball bearings as shown. Adjustably fixed to the roller 16 is a collar 20 and be tween collar 19 and collar 20 is a compression spring, 21. By means of nut 31 and locknut 100 32 the degree of compression of sprin 21 may be readily adjusted. Because of t e extra space required by the support 17, the sprocket wheel on the last roller is omitted, and there is used a gear 22 fixed to the last roller 10 and driven throu h a pinion 23 from gear 24 on the next prece ing roller. Todrive the roller 16 at the same peripheral speed as the rollers 10, there is provided the large sprocket 10 wheel 25 on one of the rollers 10 and the sprocket chain 26 which passes around sprocket wheel 18.

In operation, the' bottles or other ware passing along the rollers 10 will, in passing to the belt conveyer 14 rest on the roller 16 and be prevented from tipping into the space which would exist at this oint in the absence of the roller 16. As rol er 16 is positively driven at the same peripheral speed as roller 10, there will be no tendency for the bottles to remain at this point and not move forward. The spring 21 exerts a tension on the roller 16 which prevents it from sa ging, even though it is of small diameter an relatively flexible.

In Figs. 3and 4 is shown another means for reventing sagging of the small roller 16.

In t is modification, the roller 16 is not positively driven and is provided with a plurality so of journal portions 27 of reduceddiameter which rest in the bearing member 28. These journal portions may be formed by turning down ortions in the roller, or collars may be passe over a rod of small diameter. In order to provide suflicient strength in the bearing member 28, the adjacent large roller 29 is grooved, as shown at 30, and the bearing member 28 may also support the roller 29 in the rooves 30 in a manner similar to that in w ich the roller 16 is supported.

With this construction, the positively driven rollers will push the were onto the a small roller 16 which will turn through frictional en agement with the advancing ware, transferring it onto the belt conveyer 14.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in carryin out the invention as escribed above, all o which it is intended to include as within the spirit of the inventon as defined in the appended claims.

I cgim as my invention: 1

1. onve apparatus comprisin a p urality of pozil iiely driven rollers, a b elt convelvler, said belt conveyer assing around a to er of relativel large iam'eter adjacent to said driven to ers, an auxiliary roller of relatively small diameter between said driven rollers and said largeroller, and means for maintaining said auxiliary roller under longitudinal tension. 2. Conveying apparatus comprising a plurality of itively driven rollers, a belt conveyer, and belt conveyer passing around a roller of relativel large. diameter adjacent to said driven r0 era, an auxiliary roller of relatively small diameter between said driven rollers and said large roller, means for driving said auxiliary roller at the same eriphtween said roller conveyer and said large roller, a supporting frame in which said auxiliary roller is journaled, thrust bearing collars on each end of said auxiliary roller, and a bearing on the supporting frame for each collar pressing outwardly against said collar.

4. For conveying apparatus having a roller conveyer delivering to a belt conveyer which passes around a roller of relatively large diameter adjacent the roller conveyer, an auxiliary roller of relatively small diameter between said roller conveyer and said large roller, a supporting frame in which said auxiliary roller is journaled, thrust bearing collars on each end of said auxiliary roller, a bearing on the supporting frame for each collar pressing outwardly against said collar, and resilient means for maintaining said pressure.

Signed at Hartford, Conn, this 21st day ofApril, 1928.

KARL E. PEILER. 

